Necessary Therapy

It’s been two and a half years.

Let me repeat that. It has been two and a half years since I last blogged! Where does the time go?

I have had a little distraction… something called… starting a business from scratch. That adventure deserves its own blog but has been rich with experiences. Long hours, seemingly insurmountable odds but wouldn’t trade it for anything… …kinda like the truck. Did I quit on the business? No. Did I quit working on the truck while all of this chaos was going on around me? Hell NO! ( I feel like I am channeling Belushi via 'Animal House'... "did we quit when the German's bombed Pearl Harbor?") LOL In fact, working on the truck was what I would call…  ‘Necessary Therapy’. I needed the occasional distraction and working on the truck was just the thing.

Here’s the fast-forward on everything I’ve done in the past couple of years. Don’t forget, this was my dad’s truck from when he as teenager in the 1950’s. This truck has been in the Edmonds’ family longer than my mother! Everything I am doing to the truck, I am doing because I think it is what my dad would have wanted.

• ·       Re-made the custom gear shifter. Wasn’t happy with version 1.0. Version 1.1 (actually failed while I was driving it. Yikes!) V2.0 and V2.1 were also not quite right, so witness version 3.0. It is solid and sleek! I know what you’re thinking and you’re right, I have a problem. But! My dad always said, “Anything worth doing, is worth doing right”. So I am just following orders.
• ·       Rebuilt the 8 inch rear end with help from non-other than… Pat Tate.
• ·       Replaced the steel bed and put in new oak support slats (thanks again, Pat)
• ·       New glass in the door-windows, rebuilt the roller/runners. They both crank up smooth and slow (for the first time in my life)
• ·       Fuel Level Gauge custom install, after another rod shop said it could not be done. Lost a button on my shirt on that one J
  
• ·       Added Old School hub caps that match the 40’s-era steel wheels. These are the kind of hubs that Ralphie’s dad put the lug nuts in  - in “A Christmas Story”. Remember when Ralphie said ‘fudge’?
  
• ·       Welded in the bottom skirts of the rear fenders which had well… well they had dis-integrated.
• ·       Added a 1933 pickup radiator cap ( I love it because it was ‘period’ and a really cool looking greyhound albeit one year off from original spec). Two different people have mistaken it for the modern Jaguar hood ornament. It’s a dog, not a cat. Tsk, tsk. As if I would do something so cheesy.
  
• ·       I picked up an original 1932 horn ( think “ahh-oooo-ghaaah” ). It is slow to wind up but it has THE most authentic sound. Sounds as if an old goose is complaining about having to fly south. LOVE it!
• ·       I built a stake-body from solid oak stock and bound it with stainless steel hardware. I think it was a nice touch. I plan to 'age' the wood and add some period signage. Stay tuned. I think you're going to like it.
• ·       Engine upgrades, I said ENGINE UPGRADES! Can I get a woo –woo?
• o   I replaced the original camshaft with a ‘Comp’ performance cam – Oh my.
• o   I replaced the original intake with an edelbrock performer intake (Oh My Goodness) to accommodate the…
• o   Holley 4-barrel carburetor – OH  MY GOD!!!
  

The horsepower increase is amazing, not really necessary, but SO MUCH FUN!!!

That's all for now, I just wanted to keep the blog going but I have one parting shot. We all live under daily pressures. It could come from work, family, financial, health or any other thing that gets under your skin. To cope with it, I highly recommend that you find your own 'necessary therapy'. And if you can't think of anything to do, give me a call and I'll put you to work on mine :)

Are we still talking about the Truck?

Okay, it’s time for an update. I know, it’s been a while. Believe me, I know. Work has absolutely consumed me but that has actually been a good thing. In spite of it all, I HAVE been able to sneak a few hours in the garage with what my wife calls my new mistress… a.k.a. ‘the truck’; funny how your passions evolve as you get older. And frankly, I can’t argue with her.

As a younger man, when I fell asleep at night, I would dream of heavily oiled bodies, thinly-clad and well… those bodies were ‘smoking’ to say the least. Now, as an older man, approaching ‘geezer-hood’, I am equally likely to fall asleep dreaming of a heavily oiled piston, in a thinly-bored cylinder producing absolutely no smoke. Don’t laugh, it’s true. There’s something to be said for an engine that is not moody, grumpy, post-menopausal… or put another way… dependable, consistent and generally friendly. Are we still talking about engines ? Hahaaa!

Anyway, let’s re-focus, a few things that I have done since we last talked…

Speedometer – I actually have a speedometer that works! The original would not connect with my ‘modern’, 1964 transmission. So, I had to purchase a newer speedometer that would receive my speedometer cable. Hamp, at Hamp’s Speedometer repair was INSTRUMENTAL in getting me going. There are a number of different nylon gears that vary by drive-side and number of teeth. Hamp helped me figure it out and I am forever in debt. Thanks Hamp! Hamp is also an avid motorcycle fan (BMW’s primarily). He works on any type of speedo; old or modern, Prius to E-Class Mercedes. If you’re having dashboard problems, give him a call. He will be able to help at a very reasonable price. http://www.hampspeedometer.com/

Custom Shifter – Okay, remember the “Rat-rod” posting? Well, let’s revisit that thought. The idea was that, if you are mixing an old car with more recent parts, you are going to have to fabricate some parts. Like… if you are not crafty and creative, your ride is not going to roll. Period. Think about putting a ‘late-model’ transmission in an early Ford pickup. Fast-forward to creating a shifter that will connect to a 1964 Falcon 4-speed and be functional in a 1932 Ford cab. Further complicate the whole process by realizing that the 1964 4-speed has a reverse-lock-out mechanism that was not replicated in any other production car application. If all of that is mumbo-jumbo, let me analogize by suggesting that… you are on a deserted island and you have to save yourself with only a fingernail file and a stick of chewing gum. Consider that and get back to me :) Anyway, after multiple rounds of trial-and-error, I finally have a gear-shifter that fits the cab and… works the reverse lock-out mechanism. Fun, but I wouldn’t want to do it twice!

Emergency Brake – ‘Henry’ actually put an E-brake on the truck originally but… and this is a big BUTT!, it doesn’t fit with the new chassis. Wow, pretty shocking eh? This is a fairly important piece of equipment for a manual transmission vehicle, because without it, you can’t leave the car running if you get out of it. With the Mustang rear end, it was fairly easy to find an e-brake setup, but to connect it to the original long-throw e-brake handle in the cab was a different story. Stay tuned, I am still working on this one. I don’t plan on losing the battle, but I’ll let you know how it turns out; either way.

The Welder – Okay, last year I bought a really old lawn “tractor”; a 1967 Sears Suburban - forerunner to the Craftsman Tractor. This was the last of the ‘damn-near’ tractors that people used to cut their suburban lawns. It’s as old as I am! ( and admittedly, it looks a little better). It has plowing attachments including a furrow, a ‘granny-gear’ that can pull up stumps and a 48-inch cutting deck. It needs an over-haul which will happen this winter but the best part is that while I was negotiating this Craigslist purchase, the guy threw in a Lincoln mig-welder. He said it wasn’t working great. So I said “What the heck, I’ll take it”. I didn’t know anything about welding, but wanted to figure it out. As it turns out, there were a couple of wires that were crossed on the unit. I also added a gas kit and BAM!, I’m in business.. It works great! It is so cool to be able to ‘glue’ steel together. I feel like there’s nothing I can’t fix and I LOVE to fix things! Bring over your tired and huddled masses and we’ll get ‘em fixed up!

So now armed with a ‘metal-fixer’, I start working on the all the body damage that has occurred to the ‘Henry’ steel body parts over the eons since this old ‘girl’ was born. I am in the beginning stages of repairing the body of my old mistress. My first project is the rear fender that I have not been able to find a replacement for anywhere on the WWW. I figure, this fender is so far gone, there is no way I can make it any worse, so I dive in. “I’m going in”, I say! I cut and weld, and weld and cut, then, I grind (or should I say ‘grinded’?, I don’t know.) down all the welded seams, until they were perfectly smooth. After the purchase on an angle grinder and some special pads, I was amazed at how smooth I was able to get the ‘high-hipped’ fender. As I ran my hands over the well-rounded smooth curves of the fender it reminded me of those well-oiled bodies I used to dream of in the ‘days of old’. Lost in thought and memories, I find myself rubbing my hands back and forth over the newly formed body parts, tracing the undulating lines from curve to curve; velvety-smooth… and I had to ask myself, ‘Are we still talking about the truck?’ LOL! I’ll let you decide but until the next time… Peace to you and yours!

Have you seen my blinkers?

Take heart, brave reader. The mission continues. And though the path may appear quixotic, the progress is verily and certainly continuing.

Since we last spoke I have installed blinkers, driver and passenger side windows, a radiator overflow tank and a starter button ( I thought that was pretty cool and officially gives the cranking process an ‘old-timey’ feel). I paid Josh Mills (don't miss his magic at http://www.millscustoms.com/ )to weld on shock brackets and install front and rear shocks… and for the first time in its life, the old truck has shocks. It is impossible to explain how much of a difference that makes in ride comfort and handling. If you have ever seen one of those old movies where they show a horse pulling a buggie, you know the one? And when the buggie hits a bump, it rocks to and fro, nearly ejecting the occupants until Newton’s Third Law eventually restores order... well, reader… that is exactly how the old truck rode before shocks. If you were brave (or foolish) enough to cross over a bridge going faster than 35 mph, you were just as likely to end up in the wrong lane facing oncoming traffic, deep in the ditch on the right side of the road... or worse! I also installed some Sanderson headers ( http://www.sandersonheaders.com/ ), custom fit for a 1932 Pickup and I had G&S Mufflers run dual exhausts with Flowmaster 40 Series. It sounds won-der-ful. But of all these things, my crowning achievement so far has been... (drumroll please) ...the blinkers.

The Blinkers. OMG, the blinkers! I finally decided it was time that the truck had blinkers. So I ordered a blinker kit and waited for it to come… and waited… and waited… and waited. Well, apparently something went wrong in the shipping department and it took much longer to get here; too long in fact. Not being a very patient person, I started thinking about those blinkers, and well, I thought… Blinkers can’t be that complicated. And as it turns out… they’re not. I randomly picked up a blinker relay at the local autoparts store (from a selection of about 50). I came to find out that there are many different wiring configurations depending on the manufacturer hence the selection being so large. But no matter, all you have to do is find the wiring schema and you can create your own wiring harness. My random pick at the autoparts store landed me a relay for a.. are you ready for this?... a Hyundai SUV LOL! Don’t tell Henry Ford, ha! Something tells me he wouldn't appreciate that. But it works great. Anyway, I found some really neat retro-looking chrome w/amber lights on ebay that I could use as blinkers. I also happened upon some small indicator lights (blue) that I could install in the dash so that I would know when I left the blinker on. They are SO cool!!! I am so proud of them. So now when anyone (actually everyone ) comes over, I ask them if they have seen my blinkers?? My kids now just roll their eyes and try to hide. They even warn their friends before they come over that… “if my dad asks you if you have seen his blinkers, just say ‘yes’. And if he asks what color are the interior indicators lights to say ‘blue’”. True story.

So if you’re ever in the neighborhood, stop on by for some friendly conversation but be prepared to spend some time marveling at my blinkers.

Until next time,

Bill

Happy Birthday!

Long time, no post, eh? Well, its not because I haven't been working on the old truck. I got stuck several months back on the clutch. It seemed that the clutch slave was not working well enough to disengage the transmission from the engine. So I rebuilt it. It still didn't work. I tried to find a new one but there were none available. Like anywhere on the planet. And I looked. I spent hours at various auto parts store thumbing through their catalogs. I checked all the old car catalogs as well. Still nothing. So, I rebuilt it again. Still nothing.

I broke down and called my good friend (actually he has now moved from 'good' to 'excellent' status), Pat Tate. He came over and taught me a few tricks about bleeding hydraulic lines, but alas the clutch would still not disengage the transmission from the engine. Now I am really getting depressed, because let me tell you something, if Pat Tate can't fix it, brother, you are screwed!

So... I let it sit for a few weeks and I schemed.

I eventually got the idea to winch (literally, because it takes a lot of leverage to move it) the clutch fork back to see how far the clutch slave had to throw before it would work. Well, I pulled it farther than it should have gone and still nothing. This indicated that the clutch was stuck to the flywheel which meant that the clutch slave was likely working the entire time and that the solution to my problem was dropping the transmission, replacing the clutch and trying again.

During this time I talked Pat into selling me his 4-speed transmission which was the exact transmission that my engine needed. He even helped me put it in. What a guy. Where do you go once you reach 'excellent' status. Wherever it is, you will find Pat.

So after some nifty fabrication work customizing the gear shifter, trimming the radiator fan for its new attitude and re-working the floor board to accommodate the larger transmission I decided it was time to take her out and run her through her paces; all 4 gears. William and Marina were as excited as I was. So we piled into the squishy seats, fired her up and eased into the night not knowing what to expect. It was quite a feeling to combine the throaty rumble of the V-8 Falcon Sprint engine with the rush of the wind on an unseasonably warm (perfect really) night. It is hard to describe the feeling of running it down the road after it sat quiet and dormant for 20 years; patiently waiting for a familiar and loving hand to bring it back to life. Harder still to describe is the satisfaction of doing this myself (this was not done without much help and support,mind you. In fact, I will go far as to say that this would have been impossible if I had acted alone). There is a lot of work left to do; wrapping up at least 100 loose ends, body work still looms large, blinkers, new glass, etc. We'll get there.

But for tonight, I am happy. I sit here, almost 1 year after bringing the old truck over to our house to start working on it. And, well, she runs. And she runs damn well I might add. So fittingly enough, tonight, December 9, 2009, on what would have been my dearly departed father's 72nd birthday, I say 'Happy Birthday Dad. We're all well, but we miss you. The truck is running good, almost as good as you had it running... I just need to fix a few more things. Some things never change, eh?'

Until the next time,
Bill

Time for a Photo Journal

Mom dug up these old photos. Thanks Mom!

Rat Rod for sure

July 4th weekend 2009. Wow. I have had a lot going on in my life. Don't we all? It seems like it is one thing after another. If I can figure out a way to express it and still be true to everyone, I will blog about it. Until then, I am escaping into this particular submission.

The truck is moving along; finally got the front axel bolted back in, figured out how to install the new front disc brakes; I now have a better understanding as to why these cars are called 'Rat Rods'. I am learning how to fabricate parts and don't think twice about cutting something down or re-engineering the current design. When you buy a part from an after-market distributor and they say 'This should fit with no problem', what they really mean is that if you are one smart and crafty bastard, this should take you no more than 4 or 5 weekends if you call in every mechanical genius that you have ever met. This is total live-by-your-wits operation which I believe fits in nicely with the rat family.








I stopped keeping a ledger of all the costs associated with this venture. I frankly don't want to know how much it costs. The fact is... that I am hell-bent on getting this thing back on the road and realizing a dream for my dad. It is going to happen and it really doesn't matter how much it costs. I have discovered that even the parts I am removing have a value and can be bartered for other parts. I am new to this but I am rather starting to enjoy it. The stopping of the ledger reminds me of my friend Brian Walley's oft-quoted maxim of 'A fool and his money are soon parted'. I think that pretty much sums it up.



This old truck is still around today because my uncle, Jimmy Pratt, wanted to do something nice for my dad. My uncle was a painter by trade; houses, cars, anything really. So he spray-painted the truck, as it sat in the open air on the end of our driveway (I didn't say he was a perfectionist, I just said he was a painter). For years afterward there was a shadow of overspray on the driveway; kinda like the chalk outline of a homicide. My dad never said a word about it. That simple coat of paint staved off rust for another 30 years. Thanks Uncle Jimmy.








Well, the truck got a new set of sneakers this week. In fact, this may be the first set of new tires and wheels it has had since it was built 77 years ago. I am working trying to rebuild the hydraulic clutch and master cylinder. If I can get those kinks worked out, I will be ready to take it around the neighborhood. If you hear the A-ooo-gah horn, you'll know I got it running :)

P.S. Thanks Pat for spending July 4th in my garage. I appreciate it more than you know.

Getting by with a little help from my friends...

Josh Mills from Mills and Company ; this guy is as good as gold. He is so careful and thorough. I finally picked up my front axle this week. There were so many things that were wrong with it (lazy shackles had marred the axel, the axel was clearly bent and it handled like it!, needed new king pins and bushings, needed bearing adapters pressed on... the list goes on) and Josh was able to identify them all. He has gone out of his way to help me get the old B model back on the road, and I know he is going to be an integral part in future upgrades. I have talked with several different rodders, parts suppliers, etc and all roads lead back to Mills and Company. Check him out and you'll see why ( http://www.millscustoms.com/ ) Thanks Josh!

Pat Tate, mentor and mechanical genius-extraordinaire watched over me as I rebuilt the old autolite carburetor. This was huge. He (we) spent his Easter Sunday in his garage where he cleared a table for me and provided great advice over and over again. Two weekends later, Pat traveled to my house to help me adjust the rocker arms and valves, I would have 'hosed' it up for sure had he not been here. Truly. The way I read the engine rebuild manual, I had done everything right. When I called Pat and told him what I had done, mind you, I was all proud that I had done everything by myself, he said... ' Whatever you do, do NOT try to crank that engine. You will bend every pushrod in the engine and it will not start. Well. That was a bit of a reality-check, no? He was right. I had overtightened the valves. He loaned me all the tools to get the job done and then added a heavy dose of conventional wisdom. Thanks Pat! The old engine is running better now than I ever remember it running. Would have never happened without you!

Jerry from Pete & Jake's said that current master cylinder will suffice for the disc and rotors, I just need to dial in the proportioning valve. I hope you are right. I will give it a try. Thanks Jerry!

William, my son, helped sand down and paint (flat black) the steering wheel.

It looks ten times better. Thanks William!

Marina, my daughter, is working on sanding down the window crank. Thanks Marina!

Ron Jones provided support and expert advice while changing out the valve stem seals. Ron is always just a phone call away. Thanks Ron!

Thanks Everyone!